Abstract

The monthly evening meeting of the Society was held on Tuesday, the9th July, His Excellency the Governor in the chair.-The Secretary read a paper by Mrs. Charles Meredith, descriptive ofthe form and character of several specimens of the sea Annelida, or "seaworms" found in the kelp at Prossers' bay, and representative of the familiesof Nereididele, Serpulidae and Terebellidae. Generically they are tobe classed under Nereis, Sabella, and Terebella, but it is probable that asto species they are new to science. All the species referred to in the paperwere depicted by the writer in beautifully executed water-colour drawings.-Mr. T. Stephens read "Notes on a visit to the Hot Spring near SouthPort in 1877."-His Excellency thought Mr. Stephens' suggestion of decomposingpryites being the source of heat in this case, was probably correct, but hewas not certain that this could apply to the hot water and mud springs inNew Zealand, which extended over a very large area. These springs,which he had visited many years ago, presented some very peculiarfeatures; for instance, an individual seated in one with water at a comfortabletemperature, might hold in his hand a net containing vegetables,and, without moving, could cook them by dipping the net in a boilingspring close to him. The deposit between the springs seemed to be asort of tufa, or a mixture of lime and silex. The formation of the countryin the immediate vicinity, appeared to be recent, and as far as he (theChairman) could recollect there was no rock in situ, though Plutonicand Metamorphic rocks existed in the neighbourhood.-The Secretary remarked as to boiling springs, and similar phenomenathat the Yellowstone region of North America threw all the Geysers ofIceland, and the hot water and mud springs of New Zealand, into comparativeinsignificance. So great were the wonders of this extraordinaryregion, and so vast was the scale on which they occurred, that the UnitedStates Government had wisely reserved it for all future time as a publicpark and a play-ground for the American Nation.

In 1843 the Horticultural and Botanical Society of Van Diemen's Land was founded and became the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science in 1844. In 1855 its name changed to Royal Society of Tasmania for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science. In 1911 the name was shortened to Royal Society of Tasmania.